According to one witness: “A lot of women had thrown themselves on top of the children to protect them, and the children were alive at first. Charlie Company had encountered no enemy fire or weapons in the area. Children, infants, women, and elders were killed. Under the guise of following orders, Charlie Company, led by Captain Ernest Medina, committed mass murder of clearly unarmed civilians. troops stationed there were informed that the Vietnamese civilians were harboring Viet Cong troops and were Viet Cong sympathizers. They would never commit the atrocities of war that other countries frequently perpetrated. Regardless of personal feelings about the war, the majority of Americans at this time believed that American troops were the pinnacle of moral integrity. Suddenly, Americans began to question the strength and military might of the Viet Cong and, as a result, began to question if they could win the war.

This was a massive coordinated attack throughout South Vietnam that shook the American impression of the Viet Cong. In 1968, the Viet Cong, thought to be guerilla fighters small in number who would be easily defeated, launched the Tet Offensive.

Man of war vietnam happy tet day